A water purifier is a device configured to filter harmful elements such as foreign substances and heavy metals contained in water through a physical scheme and/or a chemical scheme.
Contents related to a structure of a water purifier is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2015-0019118 (Feb. 25, 2015) filed and published by the applicant of the present disclosure.
The conventional water purifier disclosed in the related art, that is, a directly draining type water purifier, has a structure in which a coolant is filled in a tank, and a cold water pipe and an evaporator configured to cool the coolant are immersed in the coolant.
Thus, when a refrigerant flows into the evaporator to generate a cold water, as the temperature of the evaporator decreases to the freezing point or less of the coolant, a part of the coolant is frozen near the evaporator, so that ice is generated. Further, the coolant near the ice is cooled by the ice.
Further, a stirring member is operated to promote heat exchange between the coolant and the cold water flowing along the cold water pipe. The stirring member generates a flow in which the coolant near the evaporator moves to the cold water pipe or mixes the coolant near the evaporator with the coolant near the cold water pipe. Thus, when the stirring member is operated, the temperature of the coolant may be maintained uniform.
However, in the case of the conventional water purifier, when a flow in which the coolant near the evaporator moves to a location near the cold water pipe occurs, the ice generated in the evaporator is separated. Such separated ice (floating ice) floats in the tank according to flow of the coolant.
The floating ice generates noise while colliding with the stirring member, the evaporator, or the cold water pipe.
In addition, ice pieces irregularly moving together with the coolant by the stirring member collide with the stirring member and the cold water pipe, to damage the stirring member and the cold water pipe or deform the shape of the pipe.